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Sunday, June 12, 2016

Catwoman #1 - Comics From The Basement

Hello Dwellers and Welcome To Comics From The Basement!

When She’s Bad, She’s Very Very Bad…

No I’m not talking about the wife of Jobu from Major League…

I’m talking about Catwoman

In 1993, the sometimes hero, more often than not anti-hero and nearly always villain got a full monthly series…. Only 4 years after a four part mini-series in 1989.

What may surprise those who may not know, is that Catwoman’s monthly series…. Ties into the famous Batman #497, where Bane breaks Batman’s back… I’m not kidding. In very first issue, it’s established that Bane is now running the Gotham crime scene, and Catwoman is stealing on his behalf. We are introduced to her supporting cast, Arizona, who takes the role of Selina’s sidekick, and Leopold, a weak-spine chap who acts as an emissary of sorts between her and Bane, and there is obvious tension between the two sides as Bane loves to have his ‘workers’ checked up on in order to keep them in line & wants to know who she is…. And then there is Bane of course taking what she stole only to give her a ‘cut’ of the profits. Toss in that one of Bane’s men is looking to eliminate not only his own boss but Catwoman as well, and you got a nice mix for a first issue that has an explosive cliff-hanger...

Now while the story is good…. There is of course the problem with the artwork… and penciler Jim Balant… those of you who may have seen the ‘Catwoman: Guardian of Gothan’ over at ‘Atop The Fourth Wall’ will see that a number of things that Linkara pointed out up front and center in this comic. One is how Catwoman is drawn… not just on the cover but through out the book. Whenever she is drawn in costume, her rather ample sized chest is quite prominent, there are multiple cases of when she (and one case with Arizona) are standing with her hips swayed to the side for no reason… and of course even when she is barefoot… she is drawn as if she is wearing high heels. These obviously stand out, cause a lot of the rest of the book is actually pretty decent.

And of course I have to talk about the ‘purple’ Catwoman costume… and… yeah it’s not a good one, however unlike the Guardian of Gotham attire, this makes a ‘bit’ more sense since she is not wearing a garter belt and corset, though the thigh high books and exposure of her long hair and… other grab-able parts, really raises questions. In fact a lot of Catwoman’s costumes over the years raises eyebrows (particularly in the recent years) , but I do think that the best costume for her is anyone that doesn’t give whoever she is fighting an obvious PULLING HER HAIR! Granted one has to get in close to do that, but still she’s a thief and someone who can’t afford any slip-ups that could lead to her capture.

Anyway… what’s the verdict here… well obviously the story sets up everything for the initial story arc of the series so it does what a first issue should, and tying it in with Bane breaking Batman works to its advantage. The Artwork, as stated at times is suspect, but there’s nothing ‘too bad’ here that its distracting (unless you’re familiar with the artist’s work). So I say, check it out.

Of course when I say that, where can you check it out at? Well if you’re into having the physical copies of a book, mycomicshop.com (at the time of this blog posting) has it for sale, with the price running about $1.35 to $1.80 depending on the condition, with more expensive offerings as well for hardcore collectors. If you prefer digital comics, comixololgy.com has it as well, at $1.99.

Next week, we’re sticking with DC… and a rebirth of the Universe!

Not exactly her best costume... too many things for enemies to grab...